Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Announcing a special Afro-Cuban class with guest teacher Rosamaria Roberts at the Dance Complex this Sunday May 4th from 12 noon to 1:30, $12. Pass the word!

Rosamaria Roberts, Dancer, Choreographer and Educator, hails from New York with Puerto Rican and Cuban roots. Since the age of 5, she has been moved by the spirit of dance. Winner of the 1997 Ethnic Dance Award for her commitment to teaching and peforming African diasporic dance and its history to youth and adults in the U.S. and the Caribbean, Rosamaria is an interpreter of traditional and folkloric Cuban, Haitian, Puerto Rican, Congolese and Brazilian dance forms. Rosamaria has taught at a variety of venues in the Caribbean and the United States including Yale University, Mount Holyoke College, Howard University and Connecticut Colege; and in urban high schools as a resident teaching artist through Arts Connection and Working Playground. She has danced with Richard Gonazalez and Ochumare and performed as a guest artist with M'Bewe Escobar, Cinque Folkloric Dance Theater and Maimouna Keita Co. She has also choreographed works for Retumba, and was an ensemble member for over ten years. Rosamaria directed Echoes of Brown (2004), a multi-genre performance project marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, directed and choreographed Sweet Freedom for El Puente Academy of Peace and Justice, and choreographed for Common Green/Common Ground, a collaborative performance created by community gardeners, Bronx River advocates, and NYU Drama and dramatic writing students. In 2006, Rosamaria co-directed Cultural Traditions Dance Program at the Jacob's Pillow School which focused on Afro-Dominican, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Puerto Rican folkloric dance. She holds a Ph.D. candidate in Social Psychology and is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Education at Connecticut College.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Fatou N'Diaye Presents:GET Together!An Evening of West African Music and Dance:A Student Showcase

An evening of powerful West African dance, music and song.Created by an array of talented choreographers, rehearsed by dedicated students and directed by a visionary artist. We invite you to come enjoy this unique showcase!

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

Friday, April 18, 2008

BENEFIT FOR JANBE: BRIDGES TO HAITIbringing dance education to the children of HaitiApril 25th 6-8pm Beacon Hill

Dear Friends,Please join us for an informational gathering for JANBE: Bridges toHaiti, a Boston-based organization that offers intensive danceworkshops to young Haitian students every summer.

We are a year old not-for-profit organization and are raising funds tosupport our month-long workshop this summer in Port-au-Prince (July7th-August 3rd). All money raised will go to cover costs of theprogram: the rental of studio space; the lunch program; the costs ofhiring musicians for the classes. No teacher receives any salary orcompensation. We teach modern dance techniques as well as traditionalHaitian dance, and were so successful last summer that JANBE's workwas featured prominently in the oldest Haitian newspaper, LeNouvelliste.

We hope you can come to this gathering at the Museum ofAfrican-American History on Beacon Hill from 6-8PM on April 25, wherewe will show video footage of our work last summer as we eat and drinkand answer your questions about our work in Haiti. The recommendeddonation is a $50 minimum to attend the informational event. If youcannot make it to the gathering, we hope you can make a contributionin any amount.

If you are planning to attend, please RSVP so that we can send youdirections and parking information:imagecroix@yahoo.comIf you cannot make it and want to contribute: please make the checkpayable to JANBE and mail it to 13 Highland Avenue #3, Roxbury, MA02119.

We thank you very much for considering this request, and invite you tovisit our website for more information: www.janbe.orgAll the best wishes,Jean AppolonCo-founder and director of JANBE_______________________________________________WaDaBo_Updates mailing list, WaDaBo_Updates@wadabo.comSubscribe, Unsubscribe or View Archive:http://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updates_____________________________________________This email is brought to you by www.WADaBo.com (West African Dance in Boston)

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Late notice I know, but there is a wonderful class today (Saturday,the 12th of April)

Special Sabar Dance ClasswithThe Faye family of Senegal

This is a special opportunity to experience the Géwël Tradition of thefamous Sing Sing family, directly from Dakar, Senegal. The dance classwill be taught by Aziz Faye, a dancer with few equals who has taughtand performed all over the United States. He will be accompanied byMoustapha Faye, one of the most knowledgeable and skilled drummers inDakar today he has played for the Daniel Serano National Theater andStudio 2000 in Dakar; and Malick Ngom, one of the most talenteddrummers of his generation in Dakar he is the lead drummer for theSing Sing Juniors Sabar Drum and Dance Ensemble

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

The unique opportunity of participation in a Dunham Technique Seminar is open to all professional dancers, educators, students, historians, youth ages 6 ­ 18 years, adults, musicians and Dunham admirers. From July 26 to August 3 on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Illinois, the following methodologies will be implemented: synchronized Dunham rhythms (percussion) with basic movements, purging technique with those presently certified so that consistency exists and all classes will flow in a logical uniformity. These adjustments will also meet the new standards for cultural diversity.

The 2008 Dunham Seminar will focus on the Haitian and Cuban influence on the evolution of Dunham Technique and the beginnings of the Dunham Legacy. Two primitive rhythm classes will also be a part of the curriculum for the children workshops and Dunham Technique Classes, levels I, II; Dunham Repertory and Percussion will be available to all participants during the 25th Annual International Dunham Seminar. Mr. Vanoye Aiken and Dr. Glory Van Scott, both vital members of the Dunham Legacy will provide instruction with other renowned Master and Certified Instructors such as Theo Jamison, Ruby Streate, Keith Williams and James Belk, I. A special lecture/panel discussion will also be offered during the International Dunham Seminar.

RegistrationFor additional information call (618) 874-8560/(618) 874-8561 Tuition for the eight day Seminar with a non-refundable $75.00 deposit is: Adults @ $495 Youth @ $350 Per Class @ $15.00 (a minimum of 10 classes) Observation @ $10 per observation ID Badge @ $10 per class and observation registrants (Identification Badges must be worn at all times during the Seminar.) A Group Rate discount of 15% will be given for groups of 10 or more.

Campus Housing (Not included in registration fee) Housing will be available at SIUE Bluff Hall Dormitory. Eighty (80) beds have been placed on hold. Participants will have access to a computer lab, TV lounge, study lounge, and fitness equipment. Guests can bring their own linen (highly recommended) or pay a $4 linen charge per day. Children must be supervised in the dorms (i.e. camp counselors in each wing). Check-in time is anytime on July 25-26, 2008. Check-out time is 12 noon on August 3, 2008. Cost of shared rooms/8 night stay: Cost of single room/8 night stay: $104 (18 years & younger) $144 (18 years & younger) $144 (college student 25 & under) $184 (college student 25 and under) $184 (adults) $264 (adults) Arrangements can be made by contacting Mona Brown at (618) 453-3069 or Louella Hawkins (618) 874-8560/874- 8561.

Meals (Only if you are housed at SIUE Dormitory (Bluff Hall) Lunch @ $7.00 per day or Meal Card @ $56.00 for 8 days Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner @ $20 per day or Meal Plan @ $140 for 8 days Breakfast & Lunch served in University Center (Dinner will be catered in dormitory at 7 p.m., only). Arrangements should be made with SIUE by calling Mona Brown at (618) 453-3069.

Ground Transportation (Free): SIUE Vans will be available per notification prior to arrival: Ø shuttle from airport to campus on July 25-26, 2008 (Pick-up only at Metrolink Emerson Park Stop) Ø shuttle to Metrolink Emerson Park Stop on August 3 Ø shuttle to KD Museum special events Ø *special pre-arranged shuttle service

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

We've sold all but 20 tickets for the show at the Dance Complex -- anyone wantingtickets should contact Judy Sunday morning -- 978-433-2384 -- orjmlorimer@juino.com - to get updates about ticket availability.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Enjoy an evening of African Rhythms and Dance, and help to build aschool in southern Mali at the same time. The Build a School In AfricaProject is raising funds for its fourth middle school, in a partnershipwith Save the Children. 100% of the proceeds will help build a new middleschool in the village of Diaka, in the Kolondieba District of Mali. Members of Troupe Baden'ya, directed by Seydou Coulibaly, the TeriyaDancers, Troupe Teranga, under the direction of Alice Heller, and arepertory class directed by Fatou-Carol Sylla, will be performing dancesand music from West Africa. We are offering two exciting performances --- 1) Saturday, April 12th, 7:30 P.M., in the bucolic town of Harvard,Mass, at the Cronin Auditorium, a 600+ seat theater - tickets availableat the door. Harvard is about 45 minutes west of Boston, just off route2. 2) Sunday, April 13th, 7:30 P.M. at the Julie Ince Theatre in the DanceComplex, 536 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge. Seating is verylimited and advance tickets are available and recommended. Prices for both performances are $15 Adults, $5 for children under 12. Contact Judy Lorimer, 978-433-2384, jmlorimer@juno.com to purchasetickets or for directions to the Saturday performance at the Croninauditorium.For more information about the project, check our website atwww.BuildaSchoolinAfrica.org.

Please join ACCION International in celebrating the release of LatinReggae, the new collection from Putumayo World Music!

Felt Boston Wednesday, April 16, 2008MUSIC & MICROFINANCE:This spring, ACCION is moving to a whole new beat in the fight againstpoverty. We are hosting a CD release party at Felt Boston on April16th, to celebrate the launch of Latin Reggae, the spicy newcollection from Putumayo World Music featuring both trailblazers andnewcomers from the rock and reggae scenes of Latin America and Spain.In recognition of our efforts to alleviate poverty in Latin Americaand worldwide, Putumayo selected ACCION to receive a portion of allproceeds from the sale of Latin Reggae.

Please join us at Felt Boston from 6 - 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16thto hear the collection, raise funds for ACCION's efforts around theworld and help us to "turn the tables on poverty."

ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with themission of giving people the financial tools they need – microloans,business training and other financial services – to work their way outof poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION issued its firstmicroloan in 1973 in Brazil. Today, ACCION's partner microfinanceinstitutions serve more than 3 million poor entrepreneurs per year in25 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and in the United States.www.accion.org

Helping Millions Help Themselves_______________________________________________WaDaBo_Updates mailing list, WaDaBo_Updates@wadabo.comSubscribe, Unsubscribe or View Archive:http://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updates_____________________________________________This email is brought to you by www.WADaBo.com (West African Dance in Boston)

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

On Route 93, take Exit 18 (Mass Ave./Roxbury), proceed though 2 sets of lights. At the third set take a left (Mass Ave Connector/Melnea Cass. Travel down approximately .5 miles and then turn left onto Harrison Ave. A few blocks down take a left onto Dudley Street . The Roxbury Center for the Arts is the second building from the corner on your left hand side.(If parking behind RCAHH, make a left off of Harrison Ave., on to Zeigler Street, which is the street before Dudley Street.Make a right into the parking lot.

We are a block and a half from Dudley Station on the Dudley Street side.The Silver Line comes from Downtown Crossing into Dudley.A number of buses come from Ruggles Station into Dudley Station, including the #19, 23, 27, 47, and 8.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

There WILL be class SUNDAY APRIL 13 (but I cannot be there. I'll miss you this month!).

Sorry for the inconvenience. We cannot use any other spaces at Brown and free spaces that are big enough and have good floors are hard to find. If anyone has suggestions or wants to try to find another space, call or write me or Issa or Seydou.

It is with mixed feelings I send this email. This should be a wonderful concert, but since it is a tribute concert, the man who is being honored is mightily missed. I had the honor to interact with Andy Palacio on a couple of occasions, and found him to be one of the warmest, most genuine people I have ever met. He is a giant, and a hero both in the musical world, and to his people, the Garifuna, whose culture he has brought to worldwide attention. The Garifuna are descended from Africans who survived ship-wreck and intermarried with the Caribs in the 1600's. They have managed to hang onto their own unique culture despite relocations and pressures from outside forces. The group of musicians that Andy Palacio worked with will be in Somerville this weekend in a concert not to be missed!

More Info:Andy Palacio was not only Belize's most popular musician and performing artist, but a cultural activist with a deep commitment to preserving the values of his Garifuna culture, and he was preparing an American tour following the release of the widely acclaimed CD "Watina" when he was unexpectedly taken ill and died (in early 2008). The other musicians in his Collective have decided, in honor of his memory, and out of a desire to continue the work he started, to carry on with the tour. Included in the band are three singers from UMALALI, the delightful women's group that has just released a new CD of traditional music from Belize , and one of the most extraordinary and passionate Garifuna artists of his generation, guitarist and singer AURELIO MARTINEZ, who has followed in the footsteps of the legendary Parranderos of the Caribbean to become the new voice of Paranda. The music itself is a rich admixture of Caribbean and African rhythms, spun together around the beautiful traditional songs of this small and vital culture from coastal Central America.

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

"Individual artists, of all disciplines, are often an invisible population to our policy makers and leaders. Current creative economy studies--and, for that matter, studies on the art world--do not adequately, if at all, measure the important contributions artists of all disciplines make, not only to the creative economy, but to our society. Individual artists of all disciplines are the foundation that makes our society and the creative economy thrive and grow. Without the individual artists of all disciplines, there would be no art of any kind to present and experience. There would be no creative economy. It is that simple."

A full listing of regularly held West African Dance and Drum classes taught by master artists in and around Boston can be found at our website:www.wadabo.comWADaBo is an entirely volunteer effort, if you would like to help out in anyway, please contact wadabo@gmail.comWADaBo is a collective of individuals interested in promoting and enjoying Dance, Drum, Music, Language and Culture from West African and the DiasporaIf you would like to be removed from this list, or only contacted for certain events (performances, workshops, etc), please go tohttp://lists.wadabo.com/mailman/listinfo/wadabo_updatesand subscribe to this list. Pass it on!

About

Welcome to the Blog of WADaBo (West African Dance in Boston)! We are a group of individuals engaged in a collective effort to promote West African Dancing, Drumming, Music and Culture in and around Boston.

There are many master teachers here who teach a myriad of classes, and a vibrant community of students. We hope that this site can serve as a mode of communication amongst this community, a means of promotion for teachers based in Boston, as well as those who are going to be holding guest workshops here.

This Blog serves primarily as a public archive of / alternative consumption method for the WADaBo email list. If you would like to contribute to either, please get in touch. wadabo [at] g mail d o t c o m